Weather Blog: Snow To Clip Area Late Tuesday And Wednesday

Thank you for stopping by the Weather Watch 12 Blog! A storm system will brush southeastern Wisconsin with a chance of snow late Tuesday and Wednesday. In today's blog we discuss when the snow begins and how much to expect where you live.

Let's start with the advisories in effect across southeast Wisconsin. A winter weather advisory is in effect for Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha counties from 3pm Tuesday to 6am Wednesday. The winter storm watch that was issued by the National Weather Service earlier is no longer in effect.

The main energy with this winter storm will stay south of Wisconsin, but enough moisture will lift north to provide a chance of snow to southeast Wisconsin. Light snow will first arrive along the Wisconsin and Illinois border by late afternoon or early evening Tuesday. The snow will spread north, aided by northeast winds drawing additional moisture in from Lake Michigan.

The RPM computer model forecast below is valid at 8pm Tuesday. The blue color represents snow. Notice that only far southeastern Wisconsin is seeing snow at this time. From Tuesday evening through Tuesday night the snow will gradually spread north. Locations around Beaver Dam, Fond du Lac, and Johnson Creek may see very little snow. This snow will favor locations near the lake and close to the Wisconsin and Illinois border.

Gusty winds will accompany the snow, expect winds of 15-25mph, with locally higher gusts. The snow will be a heavier, wetter snow due to surface temperatures in the 30s, but may still blow around in open areas. Wind will stay northeast through Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning. This will lead to some lake enhanced snow.

On and off snow showers will continue from Wednesday morning into Wednesday afternoon, but any snow accumulation on Wednesday should stay under 1".

Forecast snow totals through Wednesday will fall in the range of 2"-4" near the lakeshore, with the best chance of 3" or 4" of snow over parts of southern Milwaukee county through Racine and Kenosha counties. The sharp cutoff in snow totals will lead to possibly as little as a dusting in our western and northwestern counties.

We will continue to monitor the latest trends and update the snow forecast on WISN 12 News and on our Wisconsin Weather Updates Facebook page.

For the latest weather information watch WISN 12 News, and for updates throughout the day follow me on Twitter @jnelsonweather